Encased projectile



June 14, 1960 E. w. BRANDT 2,940,391

ENCASED PROJECTILE Filed May 8, 1958 6. lama v INVENTOR.

- I, MAM W ENCASED PROJECTILE Edgar William Brandt, Geneva, Switzerland,assignor to Anstalt fiir die Entwicklung von Erfindnngen undgewerblichen Anwendnngen Energa, a corporation of Vaduz (Principality ofLiechtenstein) Filed May 8, 1958, Ser. No. 733,900

Claims priority, application Switzerland May 13, 1957 3 Claims. (Cl.102-38) a This invention relates to an encased projectile.

It is known that the propellant charge of pro ectiles with cartridges isgenerally contained loose in combusof the stabilising fins. Again, thedirect action of hot gases on the more or less tapered face of the finsmay give rise to partial combustion thereof, depending on the metal oralloy of which they are constructed.

The purpose of the present invention is to remedy the above-mentioneddrawbacks and it has as its object a projectile which has an empennageand is enclosed inside a casing, the fins of the empennage extending tothe rear beyond the end of the tail which supports the empennage, thesaid casing comprising in its base a powder chamber, the metal Wall ofwhich is provided with orifices and disposed facing the inner face ofthe fins of the empennage, and wherein the said orifices open betweenthe fins only, the projectile and its case comprising means for securingthem together in a determined angular position.

It follows that when the powder is ignited the rise in pressure isuniform on all parts of each fin and the jets of gas coming from thecombustion chamber do not act directly on the face of the fins but oneach side of these, which are thus protected from the blowpipe action towhich they would otherwise be subjected on account of the high speed ofcombustion of the powder.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the powder chambercontains the whole of the propellant charge so that all the powder burnsin the interior of the said chamber.

In the constructions previously known, only the igniting charge washoused in a cartridge/holder while the propellant charge was locatedoutside the said cartridgeholder.

The previously mentioned chamber, on the other hand, has a constantvolume, keeping the Whole of the propellant charge at a constantdensity, the combustion then proceeding in a regular manner from oneround to the next.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention the upper part ofthe powder chamber forms a seating for the support of the rear of theprojectile.

This arrangement is conducive to the protection of I the empennage fin.tips, in that, should the projectile drop Patented June 14,1960

plete propellant charge'without the necessity of first taking theprojectile out of its case.

' Other advantages and special features of the invention will appearfrom the'description which follows.

In the accompanying drawing, given solely by way of example,

Fig. 1 shows an elevation, with part broken away, of an empennagedprojectile enclosed in a cartridge case;

Fig. 2 is a partial view, on a larger scale, of the enclosed projectile,the case and the powder chamber being in longitudinal section and Fig. 3is a partial transverse section taken on the line 3-3 in Fig. 1.

The-projectile 1 comprises a rear part 2 at the end of which there arethree spread-out fins 3 which are articulated in a fin support 4. A case5, preferably of brass or alloy of aluminum, in which the-projectile1.is encased, comprises at its base a steel chamber 6. .Thesaid chamber,which is in general. of a shape like atruncated cone and of which thewall, orientated to face the inner face of the fins, is provided withorifices 7, contains a propellant charge 8. There is a polyethyleneenvelope (not shown) between the charge 8 and the perforated wall of thechamber 6. The firing of the charge 8 is effected through a primer 9ignited by percussion at the moment when the shot is fired.

The holes 7 are distributed in such a manner that none of them opensdirectly opposite the inner face of the fins 3; thus the chamber 6comprises meridional zones which are not perforated. It follows that thegases from the charge are ejected equally into each of the sections ofthe case marked out by the fins through the orifices 7 and that thedynamic pressure of the gases is uniformly distributed over every partof each fin.

The case 5 and the chamber 6 constitute between them a free annularspace, to the bottom of-which the empennage fins can extend, the entirepropellant charge being contained in the said chamber.

The rear end 10 of the projectile can rest on the top of the powderchamber 6 which thus assumes the character of a support for theprojectile. This arrangement obviates all stress on the empennage as theresult of the projectiles becoming forced into the casing duringtransport and handling or when the gun is being loaded.

According to a form of embodiment shown in the drawing the chamber '6 issecured by its base to a steel ring 11 constituting the base of thecartridge case and screwed into the latter. It follows from this thatone can insert and remove the charge without separating the projectilefrom its case.

The projectile 1 is enclosed in the case 5 in such a way that the innersurface of each fin comes opposite the unperforated meridional zone ofthe chamber 6. To this end the case 5 is secured to the projectile 1, ina predetermined angular position, by the inward protuberance of the saidcase (Fig. 1) at three points 12, in which operation the case is pressedinto corresponding recesses in the body of the projectile.

What I claim is:

1. A projectile to be fired from a rifled gun, a cartridge case withinwhich said projectile is encased, said projectile comprising a body, abase at the rear of said body, said base carrying a forwardly pivotedfolded fin assembly opening out rearwardly and formed with a pluralityof fins, each of said fins extending, in folded position and over thegreater part of its length, rearw-ardly of the base .of the projectile,a powder chamber fixed to the rear end of the cartridge case and havingperforations separated by a number [of non-perforated longitudinalzones, cooperating means on the projectile and on the cartridge case forsecuring said pants together in a predetermined relation in which eachof said fins is placed opposite a non-perforated zone of said powderchamber.

2. A projectile to be fired from a rifled .gun, a cartn'dge casewithinwhich said projectile is encased, said projectile comprisingawbody, a base at the rear of said body, said base carrying a forwardlypivoted folded fin assembly opening out rearwardly and tformedwith aplurality of fins, each of said fins extending, in folded position andover the greater part of its length, rearwardly of the base of theprojectile, a powder chamber fixed to the rear end of the cartridge caseand having perforations vseparated by a number of non-perforatedlongitudinal zones, cooperating means on the projectile and on thecartridge case :for securing said parts together in a predeterminedrelation, in which each of said fins is placed opposite a non-perforatedzone of said powder projectile comprising a body, a base at the rear ofsaid body, said case carrying a forwardly pivoted folded .fin assemblyopening out rearwardly and formed with a plurality of fins, each of saidfins extending, in folded position and over the greater part of itslength, rearwardly of the base of the projectile,-a powder chamber fixedto the rear end of the cartridge case and having perforations separatedby a number of non-perforated longitw dinal Zones, cooperatingv means onthe projectile and on the cartridge case for-securing said partstogether in a predetermined relation in which each of said fins isplaced opposite a non-perforated zone of said powder chamber, the latteradapted to contain the entire propellant charge, so that all the powderburns in the interior of said chamber;

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

